Purdue-led CHORUS center showcases advances in safer autonomous transportation
Researchers with the Purdue-led CHORUS center gathered recently to demonstrate progress toward making connected and autonomous transportation systems safer, more reliable and more secure.
The National Science Foundation site visit brought together CHORUS investigators and graduate researchers from Purdue University, Georgia Tech, the University of Southern California and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The team presented research accomplishments, educational initiatives and plans for the center’s continued work.
Milind Kulkarni, the Michael and Katherine Birck Head of Purdue’s Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, welcomed the 25 attendees. He emphasized the importance of strengthening critical infrastructure and recognized the collaborative effort behind the center’s progress.
CHORUS Director Saurabh Bagchi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering with a courtesy appointment in computer science at Purdue, outlined five technical breakthroughs made possible through coordination among researchers across the four institutions.
CHORUS focuses on helping cyber-physical systems, such as connected and autonomous vehicles, continue operating safely when faced with equipment failures, cyberattacks, communication problems or human error.
“The site visit is a culmination of long, careful and coordinated work by the team,” Bagchi said. “It is satisfying to step back and look at the big picture: how we are taming the grand challenge of resilient cyber-physical systems that we set out to address when proposing CHORUS.”
Research thrust leaders Sam Coogan and Saman Zonouz of Georgia Tech and Shreyas Sundaram, Marie Gordon Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue, presented advances from their teams. Many of the results grew from researchers combining their expertise and tools.
For example, the GreenEVT simulator created by Coogan’s team supported Sundaram’s work using an optimization method to help systems make better decisions despite uncertainty. Zonouz also highlighted a demonstration that tested CHORUS security defenses on a 2025 Hyundai Palisade.
Ramesh Govindan of the University of Southern California presented three scenarios that model disruptions affecting the safety, reliability and security of today’s transportation systems. The scenarios give researchers a shared platform for testing and integrating their work.
Somali Chaterji, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue, explained how the center evaluates its progress, including system performance and the ability to remain safe, reliable and secure under stress.
The visit also highlighted CHORUS activities beyond the laboratory. Those efforts include a capture-the-flag competition focused on connected and autonomous vehicles and a Georgia Tech course examining the cybersecurity of autonomous drones.
Graduate researchers presented 16 posters and demonstrations during a lightning-talk session organized by Yin Li of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Zhuoming Liu of Wisconsin received first place in the poster and demonstration competition. Purdue researchers Preeti Mukherjee and Hyunseung Kim earned second and third place, respectively.